Our Team

Patrick is the Director of Operations. He manages the coordination of American and Honduran, corporate and governmental donors, and strategy for coffee sales and the microfinance program. Patrick studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, but changed his focus from engineering to microfinance and coffee shortly after his bachelor's degree. When not working, Patrick enjoys spending time on the coffee farm he owns with Michael, Bret, and Martir and also enjoys backcountry skiing and rock climbing.

Andrew Boyd is the Director of U.S. Operations for UMF. He manages the stateside fundraising, marketing and sales of Microloan Coffee, and service trip coordination. Andrew graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science and History. He is the recipient of the William E. Simon Fellowship for a Noble Purpose for his work starting UMF. Andrew has been involved with La Union, Honduras since 2005 when he went on a week-long service trip. This first trip changed his perspective and resulted in a growing commitment and passion. When Andrew is not working, he enjoys being outside, particularly camping and exploring the Northwest coast of Michigan's lower peninsula.

Jeremy Miller is UMF’s Director of Honduran Operations where he leads UMF’s microloan and training programs and also coordinates Community Partnership Projects. Jeremy graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in business administration and also received a master's of education degree from Ferris State University. After four years working in finance and accounting with Ernst & Young and Deutsche Bank and seven years teaching AP Government and AP Human Geography at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, MI, Jeremy felt a strong desire to make a bigger contribution. His passion around the injustice of extreme poverty lead him to UMF. He has a wife and two children and loves to cook and travel in his free time.

Bret Abel recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Computer Science. He has experience utilizing a wide range of technologies to develop cutting-edge software and web applications. These projects include a fully-functional prototype for a hospital communication system and an iPhone application that received an award from the U-M Office of Technology Transfer. Recently, Bret spent the summer in Honduras developing and deploying Netriks, a web-based community survey tool to assist with network analysis research. He then worked at a technology consulting firm in the Detroit area. He now lives in La Unión and works with UMF full-time.

Charlie Heins joined the UMF team in Fall 2010 as the Manager of Finance. In 2009, he graduated from the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. He uses his experience in business administration to monitor and analyze UMF's financial activities. He was initially drawn to UMF because of his past mission trip experiences in Honduras and his desire to help the disadvantaged rural farmers that UMF works with. He looks forward to managing finances and making other necessary contributions as UMF continues to improve and expand in the coming years. Whether working on financial spread sheets or enjoying nature in his free time, he brings a positive attitude and a fierce determination to complete the task at hand.

José Martir Alvarado is a 32 year old La Unión native. As a field officer, he holds meetings with farmers in the communities, runs trainings to improve productivity, conducts community surveys to better know the living situation of families, helps producers economically, and works to ensure that our farmers sell their harvest at good prices. He likes being part of the team because he knows we are providing the necessary tools for farmers to move forward successfully out of poverty. He has direct contact with each one of our clients and from this we better know and understand each one of them. He is part of the intellectual development and economic growth of each one of the families.

Gilberto Barrientos Hernandez is a 37 year old La Unión native and has three children. As a field officer, he also goes to villages for meetings with farmers, coordinates training sessions, and conducts training sessions in the villages we work in. He likes being part of the team because we are helping farmers improve their harvest of coffee, corn, and beans through the loans we give. Also, he is very close to what is happening with the farmers. And he is excited to help coffee farmers have access to a better market for their coffee and to be able to sell it at a higher price.